My Reminiscences of East AfricaLettow-Vorbeck, Paul Emil von
History
My Reminiscences of East Africa
Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul Emil von
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Tanzania
Towards the end of 1915, the enemy having in the meantime shifted his
camp on Kasigao Mountain, we attacked him once more. During the night a
German fighting patrol, under Lieutenant von Ruckteschell, had ascended
the mountain in nine hours, and arrived rather exhausted near the
enemy’s work. A second patrol, under Lieutenant Freiherr Grote, which
was co-operating with Ruckteschell’s, had been somewhat delayed by the
sickness and exhaustion of its commander. Lieutenant von Ruckteschell
sent a reliable old coloured N.C.O. to the enemy to demand surrender.
He observed that our Askari was cordially welcomed by the enemy; he had
found a number of good friends among the English Askari. But, in spite
of all friendliness, the enemy refused to surrender. Our situation was
critical, in consequence of exhaustion and want of food. If anything
was to be done at all, it must be done at once. Fortunately, the enemy
in their entrenchments did not withstand our machine-gun fire and the
assault which immediately followed it; they were destroyed, and a
large number of them were killed in their flight by falling from the
steep cliffs. The booty included abundant supplies, also clothing and
valuable camp equipment.
The feeling of comradeship which our Askari had for us Germans, and
which was tremendously developed by the numerous expeditions undertaken
together, led on this occasion to a curious incident. After climbing
Kasigao Mountain by night, among rocks and thorn-bushes, an Askari
noticed that Lieutenant von Ruckteschell was bleeding from a scratch
on his face. He at once took his sock, which he had probably not
changed for six days, and wiped the “Bwana Lieutenant’s” face with it,
anticipating the somewhat surprised question with the remark: “That is
a custom of war; one only does it to one’s friends.”
In order to study the situation on the spot and to push on the attacks
on Kasigao, I had gone by rail to Same, thence by car to Sonya Mission,
and then either by cycle or on foot in the direction of the mountain
to the German border, where a company was encamped at a water-hole.
From there we had fair communication to Kasigao by heliograph, and we
were thus enabled to make good the success we had gained there. Troops
were at once pushed up, so that until the arrival of the South Africans
the mountain was held by several companies. It was, indeed, decidedly
difficult to keep them supplied; for although the German frontier
territory west of Kasigao was fertile, it could not permanently support
a force which with carriers amounted to about one thousand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account